Jeremy breathed a slow sigh of relief at the sight of the traffic thinning out on the road ahead of them. Willis Avenue Bridge had been a nightmare to cross in itself, but they were now seemingly on the home stretch — most of the trip had in fact resembled the route he normally took when returning home, with the exception of the last half-mile.
He placed a gentle hand on Wednesday's shoulder, snoozing away in the passenger seat next to him, to see if she'd awaken.
She opened her eyes a crack, to ascertain why she'd been disturbed.
"Sorry, we're just about there, though," he said to her.
"Okay..." she grumbled. "Um... I don't know if I'll care to put off the remainder of my sleep until tonight — I'll be probably head straight to whatever room they've put us in and re-emerge later..."
"That's cool, I'll, uh, I'll just hang out— let you rest," he replied, "I'm sure there's probably some work I can do for them, if I'm being honest."
"Alright," she murmured, resting her eyes again.
The Addams family manor entered his periphery by the time they'd made it halfway up the hill, cursing its surrounds with its wickedness. Jeremy wondered what it might've been like growing up in such a place — he supposed it explained some of Wednesday's preferences.
As he went to pull into his usual parking spot, the wrought-iron gate barring off the horseshoe drive in front of the manor swung open suddenly, supposedly at the sight of his vehicle.
'I guess that's an invitation in...' he figured, ever-amused by the odd, possessed thing.
He pulled to a stop and switched off the ignition, right by the front entryway. Wednesday seemed to have woken herself up.
"Home cursed home..." she grumbled.
"I'm sure it'll be okay," he offered.
She looked at him with her eyes still halfway shut.
"It will..." she mused lazily, "I think you'll get along with Pugsley..."
"I— yeah, we've met at the farm a couple times," he smiled, "I think we've gotten to the point where he doesn't mind me being around, at least."
She gave a tired nod. "I'm sure he finds you entertaining."
"Hope so," he chuckled, "I don't know what he's gonna think of... all this, though."
Wednesday gave a small smile and then lay down against Jeremy's shoulder.
"He knows his place around me, don't worry," she murmured.
Outside the car window, the entry doors flung open with a great thud, revealing a grinning Gomez in waiting. Wednesday seemed to simultaneously recoil away from Jeremy's body at the sight of her father, sitting and straightening herself up.
"Children!" he exclaimed, as they both exited the vehicle.
"Good morning," Jeremy replied pleasantly, glancing over to check that Wednesday had woken up enough to stand on her feet.
"Become a creature of the darkness as of late, mountain-flower?" he said to her, while giving a wink to Jeremy.
She staggered over to her father, not so much hugging him as walking straight into his torso, allowing him to do the rest.
"It's good to be home again, dear, is it not?" he asked warmly of her.
She grumbled in response, breaking off and heading inside.
Jeremy did his best to collect all of their bags in the meantime, to Gomez's dismay.
"Lurch!" he yelled out into the mansion's foyer, to be met by the sound of lumbering footsteps. "Don't fuss, don't fuss yourself, Jeremy!" he said, marching over to him.
"Oh— it's okay, I think I've got them all," Jeremy assured him, while straining slightly to keep his fingers looped around the handles of each of the bags they'd brought.
He then looked up to find Lurch standing over him, and before he could protest, all of the luggage was scooped up into his giant hands.
"Uh, thanks man," Jeremy grinned, scratching his head.
Lurch grunted pleasantly and headed inside, leaving him with Gomez.
"She can be so set in her ways, at times, Jeremy," he commiserated, laying a hand by his shoulder, "thank you for bringing her here."
"Oh— you know, she really didn't need too much convincing..." Jeremy replied.
"That is good. Now— come! I'll show you to your room!" he sang.
~~~~~
*STORY ON HIATUS*
"You wouldn't want to waste this moonlight, would you...?"
YOU ARE READING
A Crossbow Aimed at the Heart
FanficA 21 year old Wednesday Addams has moved away from her parents (on their dime) in an attempt to find some independence, however they are concerned that she has taken the opportunity to become a shut-in. Under the guise of an audit, Gomez and Mortici...
